Air-pumping garment



E. S. GILF|LLAN.

AIR PUMPING GARMENT- I APPLICATION FILED SEPLZ. 1916.

PatntedN0v.30,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

E. S. GILFILLAN.,

MR PUMPING GARMENT.

APPLICATION mm SEPT. 2. 1916.

1,360,391; 7 Patented Nov. 30, 1920.

- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- E; s. GILFILLAN.

AIR PUMPING GARMENT.

APPLlCATION FILED SEPT.2. 19 16.

41,3 0,39 Patented Nov. 30,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD S. GILFILLAN, OF BOISE, IDAHO.

AIR-PUMPING GARMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented N 30 1920 Application filed September 2, 1916. Serial No. 118,171.

. position air \Vlll be pumped through the garment and over the surface of the body.

A further purpose of my invention is to form a union garment having a full front and back 1n the upper partthereof and hav-' ing the sides so constructed as to be extensible circumferentially about the body (whether by reason of slitting to allow separation or by using lighter, plaited, or elastic material which will accommodate the movement) so as to facilitate flapping of the front and back forwardly and backwardly with respect to the body.

A further purpose of my invention is to provide some form of air inlet ithin the body of an air-pumping garment.

A further purpose of my invention is to provide spacers keeping an air-pumping garment away from the body at the front and back and over the shoulders.

A further purpose of my invention is to provide a rocking yoke or frame within the blouse of an air-pumping garmcnt adapted to rest and rock upon the shoulders and thus mechanically hold the fabric of the blouse away from the front or the back of the wearer or both as he bends forward or rises.

A further purpose of my invention is to make the front and back of an air-pumping blouse of heavier material than would be requisite for the rest of the blouse or stiffen thesc'parts transversely by strips which also add to their weight, or both for the double purpose of causing these parts to move nearly as units and to assist in forward and backward movement by the weight of the stiffening means.

A further purpose of my invention is to use a valve in the body of a pumping garment and I find it desirable to use a transversely stiffened flexible valve flap in the valve to prevent crumpling of the flap and add to the weight tending to close the same.

A further purpose ofmy invention to thicken the suspenders of anair pumping garment over the shoulders and back so as to use them as spacersfor the fabric of the garment.

Further purposes of my invention will appear in the specification and in the claims thereof.

In the drawings I have shown several forms which have been proved by use in actual test to be practicable, efficient and inexpensive and which at the same time well illustrate the principles of my invention.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the preferred form of my garment upon a wearer.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section parallel to the plane of the paper through the center of the garment shown in Fig. 1, looking toward the back and with the arms in slightly different position, but showing certain stiffening strips on the inside, which are shown on the outside in other figures.

Figs. 3 and 4 are corresponding vertical sections at right angles to Fig. 2 and through the valve showing slightly different garments and positions of the wearer.

Fig. 5 is a broken section corresponding to Fig. 2, but looking toward the front of the garment.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged section through the valve showing certain stiffening strips on the inside shown in Fig. 3.

Figs. 7 and 8 are fragmentary broken perspectives showing the end of a leg and sleeve respectively. I

Fig. 9 is a broken side elevation showing the garment of Fig. 3 with the side buttoned.

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are broken side elevations corresponding to Fig. 9 and showing modified forms.

In he drawings similar numerals indicate like parts.

My application contains some of the same subject matter as in my prior application No. 34,992, filed July 19, 1915, for air circulation garment, with additional matter. It is my intention to cover the broader subject matter in this present application.

My suit is intended for use in hot climates or in hot'seasons by laborers or other workers in the fields, upon railroad tracks and in other places where they are exposed to the sun and where their work requires constant or frequent bending and raising of the body.

evaporating the perspiration and cooling the body both by the air itself and by the evaporation.

My invention comprises a pumping system (i. e. a structure adapted to fall from and fall or be drawn toward the wearer) with provision for air inlet with the one movement and at least partial discharge with the other in connection with what might be called a distributing system, comprising a construction facilitating inlet and discharge of the air pumped along paths adapted to cool the arms and legs as well as the body.

My main pumping system comprises a blouse l and a nether garment 2, preferably bifurcated, and shown as pantaloons, which are either made as a union suit or are capable of effective connection to operate as such and of which the blouse is full at the front 3 and back l and is adapted to swing forwardly and backwaroly toward and from the wearer with steeping and rising movements of the body, having special construction to facilitate this operation.

I prefer to open the blouse along the top of the shoulders and arms, as at 5, for corn venience in putting it on, and make the neck 6 low.

The more circulation of air squeezed out from between the front of the body and the garment about the sides and into the back of the garment and reversely, would be of some benefit in cooling the body until this air ha d taken up as much of the moisture as it would readily hold, but if any real permanent benefit is to be obtained, the air must be frequently changed. For this reason I arrange for air inlet and outlet at convenient points.

The pumping action is facilitated by a number of structural features, obviously capable of being used together and in other sub-combinations and each of which is independently of value. One of the structural features comprises the support of the lower part of the garment as at 7 and 8 from the shoulders, in order that the back and, particularly the front, may be free to swing independently of the suspenders 9, by which this support is attained.

Another of the structural features assisting in successful pumping action lies in the adaptation of the sides of the garment from a point in the blouse above the waist to a point in the nether garment below the waist to extend (stretch, separate or otherwise vary the width) laterally or circumferen tially so as to permit the front and back to have more free relative movement toward and from each other than would otherwise be the case. This I accomplish in the first three figures by the use of a lighter, softer, thinner or more flexible material than the front and back as there constructed, shown as an insert 10 and there extendin r from 11 to 12. It allows the edges of the stiffer front (or insert) as at 13, 1a, to come more closely together when the wearer is standing straight (Fig. 3) than when he is leaning forward (Fig. l). This relative lateral movement of the front and back may be facili ted also by using elastic material at 15 shown in Fig. l. In Fig. 10 it is accomplished by placing longitudinal accordion plaits 16 at the sides of the garment so that even though made of material having the same stiffness, weight or rigidity as the front and back, it will stretch and compress circumferentially by reason of the plait'ing.

ll here it is desirable to admit the air also at the sides of the garment, both the extensibility and this air admission may be secured by slitting the garment at the sides at l717, as seen in Figs. 11 and 12, permitting the edges of the slit to separate or be close together as the position of the wearer may determine. A netting insert may be used, as at 18, to conceal the body, otherwise apparent through this opening, and the slitting may be rendered inoperative at will by buttoning or otherwise securing one side upon the other, as at 19, 20.

Another structural feature cooperating to give effective pumping action is the stiffening of the front fabric. This might be obtained by the selection of a relatively stiff material which should have sufficient weight to fall forward nearly as a unit, but can be obtained to advantage by lighter material transve ely stiffened and weighted, as by any desired number and shape of strips 2'}, 21, 21 of whale bone, metal, or other reasonably stiff material. The back is pref erably also transversely stiffened by similar strips 22, 22, 22 for the same purpose. This causes the entire front and back or either of them to'move substantially as a unit without inteferihg with a desirable fullness when extended, quickens the bellows action and insures more full movement of the front and back. The front stiffeners are omitted in Fig. l.

A further contributing cause to the pumping action is found in the double yoke 23, removable for washing, which passes over the shoulders and rocks so as to conform successively to the general line of the breast and back of the wearer. The two parts of the yoke may be crossed as shown, if desired and are used by me to advantage as part of the suspender length, the portion of the suspenders below the breast in front being preferably of cord to lighten it and reduce the heating effect when this portion touches the body. As bLSlJ seen in Figs. 3 and 4, when the wearer is standing erect, the yolre is pulled down in front by the front suspender cords or by the weight of the gar ment if these be not used, and the rear portion 2d stands out from the back, assisting in holding the back of the garment away from the wearer, whereas, when the wearer is leaning forward, as in Fig. 4,'the direction of pull of the suspenders is changed with respect to the vertical, allowing the rear 24 of the yoke to fall in against the back of the wearer, or pulling it in. It will be noted that there is very little movement of the yoke upon the wearers shoulders and such movement as there is, is chiefly a rocking or rolling upon the shoulders.

The pumping construction, whatever its character, requires adequate inlet and outlet for air to prevent the same air being churned back and forward about the body, which would soon cease to be effective because the air would become saturated from the moisture of the body andcease to take up additional moisture. I have provided for admission of air in various ways.

The yoke 23 is given sufficient thickness to act as a spacer to keep the adjoining garment away from the body. It also connects the transverse stiffening strips 22, 22', 22 at the back, additionally unifying the movement of the back, and supports the flap seat- 25 of the pantaloons shown.

The low cut of the blouse with the spacing effected by thedouble yoke and other spacers hereinafter more fully described, gives effective air inlet and air outlet at the neck. The arms and legs would provide some air inlet and outlet even without the special provision for stiffening them hereinafter set forth; but in addition to this, it is desirable to have air inlet and outlet within the body of the garment below the open neck and various means for providing this are shown.

In Figs. 11 and 12 the slit down the side of the garment from above the waist in the blouse to below the waist in the nether garment provides very full air inlet and outlet, open, however, to two disadvantages. Even when netting is used it exposes the body through the slit somewhat, objectionable because the garment is intended to be worn without underclothing, or with but scant underclothing, and it allows escape of air at the sides during the pumping action which would otherwise be pumped about the side of the body, from the front to back and vice versa. As offsetting the latter, a portion of the body at the side receives air directly through the slit. T

The exact point at which air is introduced into the body of a garment seems not to be very material and I find that I can get nearly the same results in air admission through a reasonable number of moderatesized air inlets placed in convenient positions, as by slits at the side; and by making these air inlets valves I can force the pumped air outwardly through the neck,

sleeves and legsto considerable advantage. In Figs. 1 to 6, therefore, I show two valves 26 which have given very good results, placed at approximately the middle of the front for convenience and provided with fairly rigid seats 27 and valve flaps 28, hinged asat 29 and preferably stiffened transversel from the hinge, as by a wire or strip 30. The stiffening prevents the flap from crumpling or creasing and gives it a not undesirable additional weight, making it move also as a unit.- I i In practice, I find that the valves open slightly as the wearer leans forward, due to the greater depth from front to back of the garment in that position (Fig. 4) that in theposition shown in Fig. 3, and that the valves close as the wearer rises to the position of flaving considered the pumping movement of the garment and, in a general way,

the admission of air to the garment and exhaust of air therefrom, I take up next the circulation of the air. The circulation throughout the body due to the pumping movement is facilitated by the thickness of the double yoke, affording a spacing along and close to it, by the suspender front performing a like spacing function, by the transverse stiffening. of the front and back of the blouse, preventing them from falling in against the body between these spacing means, and by a number of additional spacers adapted to prevent the garment from coming in contact with the body at other points. I show spacers 31, 31 in the back, at the shoulder and 33 at opposite sides at the breast and have sustained the shoulders between the double yoke and the spacers 32 by stretcher rods 34 supporting or dis tending the fabric at this point.

In order to distribute some of the air pumped throughout the arms and legs to advantage,I find it desirable to insert stiffening rings or bands 35, 36 at these points, of a character adapted to maintain them in substantially the positions set and preferably comprising wires, whale bone, or similar firm inserted material.

The sleeves and legs may obviously be made as short the convenience and comfort of the individual dictate, with the ad vantage of allowing air to pass through them more freely but at the expense of reducing the extent of arm or leg cooled by what air does flow. i V In operation, the wearer alternately leans forward and raises his body during the normal progress of his work. Starting with the position shown in Fig. 3, as the wearer leans forward, the double yoke falls in aganst his back and paves the way for the front falling forward also. The front,how-

ever, is adapted to move considerably farsubstantially as units. The additional movement of the front causes air to; be drawn in at the sides orvalves and through the eck, arms and legs of the garment. Any perspiration onthe body of the wearer is evaporated and the body cooled by this air. Because it is fresh air, it will ordinarily not be saturated and be in condition to take up this moisture. As the wearer rises to the position shown in Fig. 3, the front of the garment is drawn toward and also fails toward the body and, to a less extent the back of the blouse moves, away from the body. Air is admitted from the sides or is forced around the sides of the body from the front, if they be not open and a quantity of air equal to the additional air prevlously admitted is forced out through the sides (if they be open), neck, arms and legs of the garment, additionally drying and cooling the wearer and preparing for the repetition of these movements. The double yoke and the spacers keep the garment away from the body at the points of most probable contact.

Even where the sides are open, I have found that partof the air passes around the wearer from front to back and in every (as air flows in and out at the neck, arms and legs, avoiding the objectionable presence of perspiration and converting its evaporation into a means for cooling the body, in addition to the cooling effected by the movement of the air itself.

here I use the language constructed of continuously formed material in claims 8, 9 and 10, it is my intention to indicate that the blouse shall sufficiently prevent passage of air through it so as to cause to function as a pumpin garment. This is in distinction from jordan Patent 962900, June 28, 1910, in which the openings deliberately formed throughout the blouse would prevent effective pumping parallel to the body, even if the garment were adapted to fall away and draw toward the body.

It will be evident that I have provided a garment having a full blouse specially adapted to be drawn or fall toward and away from the body of the wearer, having cooperative provision for spacing to facilitate the distribution of the air pumped and particularly useful for laboring uses.

Having thus descril' on my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. ln a garment, a blouse stiffened transversely at the frontand back and full at said front and back, in combination with sides relatively weakened to permit circumferential extension, allowing the front to fall farther away from the back of the garment by its weight for this reason, as the wearer leans forward.

2. A union garment comprising a blouse constructed of continuously formed material, full in, the front and back and a nether garment in combination with spacing means holding the garment away from the body over the shoulders and transverse stiffening strips for the front adapted to cause the front to move substantially as a unit in transverse planes.

3. A blouse constructed of continuously formed material, full at the front and back, in combination with transverse stifl'ening strips for the front of the blouse adapted to add weight to the front and assist it in falling away from the body as the wearer leans forward and spacing means for the blouse holding it away from the body at the front.

a. A blouse constructed of continuously formed material, full at the front and back, in combination with transverse stiffening strips for the back of the blouse adapted to add weight to the back and assist it in falling toward the body as the wearer loans forward and spacing means for the blouse holding it away from the body at the back.

5. A blouse full at the front and back, in combination with a yoke resting upon the shoulders and adapted to hold the blouse away from the back of the wearer when he stands erect.

G. A blouse which is full in the front and back, in combination with a spacer passing over each shoulder, of considerably greater extent from front to back than the body of the wearer and adapted to rock on the shoulders of the wearer with change of inclination of his body.

7. 1'1 blouse full in the front and back, a nether garment, a spacing yoke larger from front to back than the body of the wearer adapted to fit over the shoulders of the 'earer and roll thereon, in combination with connection from the front of the yoke to the nether garment, assisting in the rollin movement.

8. A union garment having air inlet in the body of the garment and comprising a blouse full at the front and back and a nether garment, in combination with a rocking yoke larger from front to back than the body of the wearer passing over the shoulders of the wearer adapted to rock thereon and connected at the front to be drawn downwardly by the weight of the front of the garment when the wearer stands erect to bow the back and force the garment away from the wearer at the back and means weakening ti: sides of the garment against extension forwardly and backwardly so as to allow the front to fall forward faster than the back as the wearer leans forward.

9. A union garment comprising a blouse full at the front and back and there spaced away from the wearer, and a nether garment in combination with sides weakened to allow circumferential extension, permitting the front to fall forward additionally as the wearer leans forward in combination with valves admitting air to the body of the garment. 7

10. A uniongarment comprising a lownecked blouse, full over the shoulders and supported free from the wearer there, sleeves and legs for the garment and a stiffener for the end of each of the sleeves and legs, separate from the garment for holding the ends extended.

11. An air-pumping union garment hav ing a low-necked blouse full in the front and back with closed sides weakened relatively to the front and back to yield circumferentially allowing additional movement of the front with respect to the back by reason of its weight, as the wearer changes his posture and having air inlet in the body of the garment whereby the air content of the garment is changed with changes of inclination of the body of the wearer and air is pumped from the front to the back of the garment and vice versa about the sides of the wearer.

EDWARD S. GILFILLAN. lVitnesses GERTRUDE BADER, WM. STEELL JACKSON. 

